Coral: I... am... done... And just in time.

Jackson: That took a while. I thought I sent you this chapter.

Coral: You forget, the part you sent me is more or less half of this chapter. The other half that I did, I had a tough time doing. That, and there was the raid, as you know, and the new Pokemon Cafe game that I got hooked into.

Jackson: Oh yeah... Oh yeah! In the chapter, you added-

Coral: NO! Don't say it! Don't put all that hard work I put in the other half of the chapter go to waste!

Jackson: Okay, okay! Well, I guess nothing needs to be said here.

Coral: That indeed. Well, except for one thing. Too bad Daniel and Hyna aren't here.

Jackson: Is that really something that should be said?

Coral: No, not those words. I mean the other words. You know what today is, yes?

Jackson: ... Oh! Oh, that's what you mean. On three?

Coral: One...

Jackson: Two...

Coral and Jackson: Three! Happy 4th of July~~!

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY, Pokemon, or the OCs. They all belong to their original creators.

*OPENING*

Don't be afraid of stuff you have never seen or done
(Crescythe approached a lake and was going to take a drink it when she felt her horn tingle)
Come on, future hero!
Let us all run with the winds at our backs
(She side stepped and avoided Ruby's attempt to tackle her from behind, as the trainer fell into the lake. Crescythe offered a paw to help Ruby out with a smile, in which she gladly accepted.)

(Instrumental)
(Camera faced the whole landscape of Kalos as title appears on the screen)

You've gotten more tan since the time we met
(Scene changed to Bermuda Island, with Vanessa exiting out of the portal, exhausted as she fell to her knees)
Clothes have gotten a bit dirty, but that's alright since it's more like you
(She looks up and saw all her friends and their Pokemon in front of her, smiling as Ruby and Jaune offered her a hand, in which she accepted in relief)
Even with bitter tears hidden under the hat
(Ruby sat along the coastline at a beach, looking down at her Mega Bracelet in sadness)
Look, the sun will dry them soon enough
(Crescythe tapped her nose against her back, causing her to turn and saw her Pokemon team standing behind her, and all her friends behind them. This made Ruby smile as she ran up to them all.)

Learning 'til we're tired
(Scene changed to the plains where the team are training their Pokemon, with Vanessa and Lyanne supervising, and Seth and Jackson preparing lunch.)
Playing 'til it's dark
(Scene changed to the group sitting around a campfire having dinner)
Let's chase the Rainbow Wing
(From another dimension, Lugia and Ho-Oh kept close eyes on the group, specifically some certain individuals)
The importance of voicing out my dreams
(Weiss is on stage with her Pokemon team as she performs with them)
That's what you've taught me
(Meloetta flew above them as she sang. She then started to glow and change shape)

Don't be afraid of stuff you have never seen or done
(In a sunny area, Team RWBY had their first Pokemon out and against Team CRDL's Pokemon, the girls' Pokemon unleashing Aerial Ace, Ice Beam, Dragon Claw, and Hyper Beam at the opposing Pokemon)
Come on, future hero!
Let us all run with the winds at our backs
(In another area, Team JNPR had their own Pokemon out against the Neo Team Flare's female scientists' Pokemon, the Huntsmen's Pokemon using Iron Head, Swift, Dragon Breath, and Flying Press on the enemy)
Do not ever forget the dream that you have always had
(Vanessa looked down at her armor in her hands, thinking about Nic, as the Dark Legendaries appeared behind her. She sensed their presence and turned, only to instead see Seth, Jackson, Leafeon and Lyanne behind her)
Come on, let us all get our backpacks ready and go
(This made her relieved as she placed her armor in her new bag and put it on her back, as she joined them and the rest of their friends.)
This is your adventure and nobody else's
(In the Pokemon Village, Wulric and Diantha stood in the middle of a group of Pokemon. Both then looked up to the sky as a gentle wind blew.)
Let's take a step forward
(Opening ends with the heroes atop a cliff as they looked down at the town below)

"GRAAAAH!"

"HAAAAAAA!"

A shockwave had rushed across the creek that the team decided to make camp on Route 18, caused by Jackson and Vanessa, who were in a full-on combat battle with one another. Or rather, it was a Pokehunter battle, with Jackson having out Anorith, and Vanessa using Goomy.

Using her boots, which had been repaired and modified by Jackson during their time in the Bathe Islands, she unleashed a jet-propelled spinkick that came at her opponent's side. He guarded the attack with his arm, but it sent him flying up the creek, skipping over the water a couple times before sliding to a halt. He couldn't grip on the slippery rocks, so he instead used his Jet Shoes to levitate along the water, before rocketing himself back at Vanessa.

"Goomy, Muddy Water!" Vanessa shouted, and Goomy hopped over her to unleash a muddy wave along the creek, coming at Jackson.

"Crush Claw!" Jackson called to Anorith, who hung on his back.

The little guy crawled over his shoulder, bounding forward as his glowing claws and Jackson's sword slashed through the attack as one, creating an open hole in the move. Jackson then unleashed a sword spin dash, spinning like a buzzsaw at Goomy, who panicked. Vanessa came in time, turning the dial on her gauntlet, and unleashing an electric punch that countered the attack. The two pressed their weapons against one another, but Jackson's continuous spinning overwhelmed Vanessa's fist, and she ended up sent flying. She knew that she couldn't fully counter his attack, but the best defense was a good offense. Goomy was protected.

Jackson came out of his spin as he and Anorith stood side by side, watching the Soft Tissue Pokémon join its trainer. "I gotta say, when I saw those weapons of yours, I was pretty impressed by the hardware," he called to Vanessa. "I had a lot of fun modifying them. And I was glad that I could add cartridges of Pokemon moves, like the ones Yang use, into them."

As they rested in Bathe Islands, Jackson not only fixed and improved Vanessa's gauntlets, but also created special cartridges that held moves that would act similar to Dust. He made electric-element cartridges through Dedenne's Discharge, ice-element through Weavile's Ice Beam, fire-element through Quilava's Flamethrower, wind-element through Whimsicott's Hurricane, and water-element from Dewott's Water Pulse. As for her boots, Jackson did a complete overhaul, turning them into Extreme Gear Jet Shoes just like his own, though her's sacrifice speed for durability.

"I admit, they are easier to use than before," Vanessa admitted, looking at the gauntlets. "And to use Pokemon moves instead of Dust to power them feels so right. It makes me feel closer to my brother."

"Well, even with all that new equipment on you, I can see you are still inexperienced in combat," Jackson noticed. "Not to mention that you haven't used those weapons or your Pokemon to their full potential."

"Whoa, hold on!" Vanessa looked hurt and angry at his words. "I may be new to these new hover-shoes you gave me, but I'm still strong by my own right! And so are my Pokemon! I trust them when I went through all that hell in that other world, and they risked their lives to protect me as we all escaped from there! We are a lot tougher than we look!"

"Prove it," Jackson answered, readying his blade, as Anorith pinched its claws a couple times. Vanessa and Goomy both glared at him, and they charged together at Jackson.

On the sidelines were the cast that were watching their fight; Leafeon, Ruby, Crescythe, Reaper, Blake, Jaune, Pyrrha, Lyanne and Vanessa's Pokemon. Ruby and Crescythe were cheering for the both of them, while Krokorok was bellowing for his trainer and Goomy to win, though his cheers were more threats.

"Seems like Jackson is trying to make sure Vanessa is skilled enough to fight by egging her on like this," Jaune noticed, watching his 'teacher' unleash electric punches, while Jackson blocked with his sword.

"I'm a bit worried since Vanessa has just fully recovered," Mawile added. "I hope she isn't pushing herself too hard out there."

"She'll be fine," Ruby assured her. "Besides, Jackson knows she just recovered, too. I bet he won't go all out against her."

At these words, Vanessa jumped and unleashed a roundhouse kick with the propulsion of her jet shoes, but Jackson used his semblance to teleport out of the way in an orange spark, reappearing right behind her, and unleashing his own roundhouse kick to her back, causing her to fall and tumble along the creek, coming to a halt as the water rushed around her body. She grimaced in pain from the damage as she got back up.

"I doubt Jackson is going to make it easy for her..." Blake noticed, feeling both pride and worry at Jackson's attack on Vanessa.

"It is how he trained with us, too," Leafeon noted. "He knows the limits of his opponents strengths, but he doesn't fight us with kid gloves."

"They sure are going strong out there. What do you think, Reaper?" Ruby asked her shiny Scyther.

"I guess..." Reaper answered, showing no interest at all in the battle.

Ruby saddened at the sight. She had hoped that watching some passionate spars would get Reaper to go back to his usual self. After seeing how Phyrrha and Shanti made up, she was inspired to do the same with Reaper, but so far... nothing was working.

"Well, I think that makes two of them..." Crescythe stated, looking to an area far to their right, where the rest of the group was at.

In another section, Weiss, Meloetta, Nora, Ren, Emburn, Poliwhirl, Houndoom, and Sableye were watching the battle between Yang and Leona versus Seth and Espeon, the latter finally deciding to fight with Yang. And this was more than just a Pokehunter battle, too.

Seth and Yang both traded blows with Moonblast-imbued punches, evenly matched in strength.

"Flamethrower!"

"Psybeam!"

Yang and Seth both shouted out a command to their partner Pokemon, both who unleashed their long-ranged attacks. The two moves struck each other and created an explosion in the air.

"Flame Charge!" Yang shouted, cocking her Ember Celica's, and unleashing a Dragon Pulse shot at the pair.

Seth got in front and unleashed his Psycho Cut, slashing the Dragon Pulse when it got close. Fortunately, it weakened the Dragon Pulse shot as it overpowered the attack and struck him. His body glowed a dark magenta as he endured the attack, and prepared himself as Yang's Pyroar came through the smoke to try and catch him off guard. Using his Moi Tai, he kneed Leona in the jaw, stopping her attack and causing her to reel backwards, falling on her back.

"Nice moves, Seth!" Yang called out, seeing her partner was still okay. "So, how does it feel?"

"To have an aura, you mean?" Seth asked, looking at his hand. "Pretty interesting. I can't believe I'm not that damaged from that attack when you struck me with Mega Latias's Dragon Pulse."

That's right. Seth had now unlocked his own aura, thanks to Yang. After learning he and the others were allowed to follow the huntsmen to their world, like Blake did for Jackson in Route 13, Seth asked Yang to unlock his aura. The color of his aura was a dark magenta, and he had already discovered his Semblance, as well. He caused it 'Aura Sense', in which he is able to detect the aura of people, especially those like Huntsmen and Huntresses had, including how much they had on them, and where the aura's focus was on the person. And that's not all...

"Alright. Time to burn!" Yang declared, as she thumped her fists together and activated her Semblance, causing her eyes to glow red and her hair to ignite in flames.

Seth watched her, and his eyes glowed slightly. He saw the golden aura around Yang, which was low at this point, but there was an intense flame that surrounded her at this point.

"So this is what Yang's Semblance looks like with my powers," Seth muttered. "The energy is really intense, and it focuses solely around her."

Yang charged forward, and unleashed haymakers and jabs in flurries at Seth, who used his martial arts training in karate to parry and block her attacks as best as he could. However, with Yang's Semblance active, she was dealing more damage than before. He pushed himself backwards to evade another slug, and Yang tried to pursue. This was Seth's intention, for he used Psychic on her and froze her in mid-bound, before sending her flying into the air.

"He used her Psychic on Yang!" Emburn gasped, witnessing his trainer being blown back.

"Ne-hee-hee-hee! Looks like our Seth is allowing himself to use his attack on people, now," Sableye snickered.

"Of course, that's only due to Yang convincing him to do so," Weiss pointed out, while Nora was cheering loudly for the Huntress to 'break that Psychic attack into pieces', shaking Ren in the process.

"Even so, they both look like they're enjoying themselves in the battle," Meloetta stated.

Yang caught herself in midair, and unleashed Swift shots from her weapons, raining down at Seth and Espeon.

"Psychic, Espeon!" Seth shouted. The two used their psychokinesis on the stars, causing them to misfire, and rain down around them.

"Let's see him avoid this..." Yang muttered quietly, shifting her ammo once more. "Leona, Hyper Beam!" She fired off her own Hyper Beam shot down at Seth from above, just as her partner fired her attack forward.

"Psychic barrier!" Seth shouted, and he and Espeon formed a barrier of psychic energy around them. The twin Hyper Beams pressed onto their combined defense, the collision of the powerful black beam onto the glowing blue energy barrier created shockwaves of the combined colors to emanate all about the scene, forcing their audience to endure.

"This is insane!" Weiss exclaimed.

"I never thought a battle could get this intense!" Meloetta said.

"It's certainly demonstrating the power of Yang and Pyroar's offense over Seth and Espeon's defense," Ren pointed out.

"My new master is really something else!" Swirly stated, holding himself to the ground.

When the twin Hyper Beam died down, Seth and Espeon caught their breath as Yang landed on the ground, the gauntlet she used the Hyper Beam shot smoking a bit from the intense attack. Leona was feeling the recoil of the Hyper Beam, unable to move properly.

"Espeon, you okay?" Seth asked his partner.

"Somehow..." she answered weakly. "That took a lot out of me." She and Seth suddenly sensed an attack, and looked up to see a Dark Pulse stream coming at the pair, delivered by Yang and her other Ember Celica. They couldn't block it this time and got blasted hard, especially due to the type-weakness they share.

Seth managed to endure, though it broke his newly acquired aura. Espeon, unfortunately, took a critical hit from it, and was unable to continue.

"Oh... Damn, that hurt..." Seth grimaced, shaking off the damage he took. He looked to Espeon and was dismayed that she was unable to continue. He then turned to Yang, who dismissed her Semblance. He then noticed something else, that being how he wasn't able to see her aura like he did before.

"What the... did my Semblance turn off or something?" Seth asked, blinking at the lack of sight.

"Duh, that's because I broke your aura," Yang explained. "Without your aura, you can't use your Semblance."

"Huh... Should've figured. With great power comes great drawbacks, after all."

"Never heard of anyone actually grateful for a power's drawbacks."

"Well, then. Let me show you what I can do, even without that power," Seth told Yang, getting into a fighter's stance, his body glowing.

"Whoa!" The gasps coming from the team watching the other fight was so strong, it drew their attention. They all saw what was causing them to react this way.

In the midst of Jackson and Vanessa's fight, their Pokemon stood there, their bodies glowing brightly, both sides starting to evolve. Anorith's body was changing dramatically, gaining in size and structure, including feet. Goomy's body morphed, gaining a snail-like shell, and longer antennae. When the light dispersed, both Pokemon were now in their new forms.

"Anorith evolved into Armaldo!" Jackson cheered, pleased at the results.

"And my Goomy is now Sliggoo!" Vanessa exclaimed.

"Wow! They evolved simultaneously!" Ruby cheered, while she and Blake were about to pull out their dex.

"Allow me- roto!" a voice spoke up from behind, having Meloetta turn invisible. Something flew over them, and floated down in front of Ruby. It was a familiar red character. The Rotom Dex.

Its main screen activated, displaying both Pokemon. "Armaldo, the Plate Pokemon, and the evolved form of Anorith. It lived on land and went out into the sea to hunt for prey. Its sharp claws were its greatest weapon. Sliggoo, the Soft Tissue Pokémon, and the evolved form of Goomy. It crawls along sluggishly. The swirly protrusion on its back is filled with its brain and other organs."

"What the-!" Crescythe exclaimed, not sensing him coming.

"Where did this guy come from?!" Jaune questioned.

"What is that thing?" Vanessa asked, having never seen it before.

"Wait a minute. Is that...?" Jackson started.

"Wait up, Rotom Dex!" shouted a voice from far off. Everyone turned to see a familiar sight. It was the girl they met way back when, racing up from the path to Anistar, wearing the same attire as before.

"Isn't that-?" Weiss started, recognizing the figure.

"Maui!" Ruby exclaimed.

The girl stopped, recognizing the heroes, and waving happily at them. "Alola! Long time, no see!" Everyone ceased their battles as they joined up with the girl, while her Rotom Dex rejoined her side. "Jeez, you always go off on your own whenever you encounter a new Pokemon info."

"I can't help it- roto," he answered. "I always love discovering new kinds of Pokemon, and getting the info on them- roto!" Maui sighed and shook her head at this.

"Last time we met, you were heading off to train to prepare yourselves for the gym battles," Ruby recalled.

"I was. I headed back to Alola, got a little stronger, passed a Grand Trial in my region, and came back here," Maui explained. "It has been paying off. I have four gym badges under my belt."

"Cool, but we have seven badges," Yang told her. "We're a bit stronger than last time."

"Really?! Even you, Weiss?" Maui asked, looking to the only Huntress who wasn't challenging gyms.

"Of course. I've gained both beauty and grace in my Pokemon," she responded in a haughty manner.

Maui looked amazed as she looked to everyone, then saw Vanessa, the one person she never met. "And who is she? Another girl in this entourage?"

"Wha- Why are you calling it an entourage?!" Pyrrha questioned in a befuddled manner.

"My name is Vanessa. I'm friends with these guys," she explained. Turning to Jackson, she then asked, "Is this someone you met from your journey?"

"Yeah. She's a girl from the Alola region," he answered. "Her name is Maui."

"Alola region?" Vanessa echoed, looking amazed. "I've heard of how nice that region is. It's nice to meet you."

"Same here. Though where I'm from, we greet by saying 'Alola'."

"Oh. Well, in that case, alola," Vanessa greeted Maui, who smiled in response to this.

"So are you on your way to the next gym?" Jaune asked.

"Well, actually-"

"Maui! Wait up!" came a voice unfamiliar to all.

From the direction Maui came from, a boy their age came running. He had silver hair that was swept to the left side and greenish blue eyes. His attire consisted of a black and white striped shirt with a purple blazer over it and beige jeans.

"Oh, Ryan! Sorry, I forgot I left ya behind," Maui said.

"After I challenged you to a battle?! That's some nerve you got there!" the newcomer, Ryan, exclaimed.

"Hm? Who is he?" Ruby asked.

The guy was silent, and only stared at her and the rest of the group. His eyes stopped at Jackson and Seth and approached them. "Hey there! My name's Ryan, nice ta meetcha!" he greeted.

The huntsmen group all sweatdropped at how he greeted the two.

"Did he just ignore us?" Jaune questioned.

"I think so..." Ren answered.

Of course, Jackson and Seth were both equally unamused with the greeting. "Hi... I guess. I'm-"

"Whoa! A shiny Scyther?! How cool is that?!" Ryan suddenly interrupted the swordsman trainer. "And it's got a nice scar, cool! Talk about badass! This has to be one of your Pokemon!"

The way the guy was acting was slowly testing half the trainers' patience.

"No, it is neither of our's," Seth answered. "Reaper belongs to-"

"Hey, how about a battle? I want to see how good this Scyther is!" Ryan interrupted once more.

"Have you no manners at all?!" Weiss snapped. "First of all, how about you pay attention to someone when they're speaking to you! And secondly, don't you know how rude it is to ignore people like they're not there?! You clearly have no tact at all!"

"This may be the one time I'm glad Weiss is all... Weiss-y," Yang said.

"Same here," Blake agreed, with Ruby nodding in agreement as well.

"Sorry, but I don't speak to acquaintances," Ryan said, much to their confusion.

"'Acquaintances'? We just met," Pyrrha told him.

"Oh no, not to me. I'm sure you guys are just their porters or something." Now that statement went and pissed them off big time.

"Hey! Don't call our friends porters!" Seth retorted. "And for your information, they're clearly way better trainers than you think! The Scyther you're fawning over is Ruby's! The girl in the red hood!"

Ryan looked over to Ruby's direction... and had on a disgusted look on his face. "This pipsqueak? You're clearly pulling my leg here. Unless if the Scyther is really weaker than it looks, there's no way she's its trainer."

"Hey! What do you mean by that?!" Ruby questioned.

Reaper, for some reason, suddenly just flew off deeper into the route.

"Reaper?! Where are you going?!" Crescythe asked, following after her comrade.

"Wha-?! Reaper! Wait up!" Ruby called, following after them.

Once they were gone, Ryan asked, "What's up with them? I wanted to battle that Pokemon." The others glared at him for his insensitivity.

"How did you become friends with him?" Weiss whispered to Maui.

"I didn't. He just challenged me to a battle after seeing me defeat a group of Heatmor earlier," she answered. "And just as I was going to accept, Rotom suddenly acted up upon sensing more Pokemon nearby."

"Ah. I see."

"Well, I ain't giving up on that Scyther! I'm still going to battle it!" Ryan exclaimed, running after the trio.

"Wait, Ryan!" Maui called, only to be ignored.

"And he's gone," Nora stated.

"They will be okay, right?" Yang asked.

"Depends on who you mean," Vanessa answered.

"Speaking of battles..." Maui spoke, changing the subject. "Since I'm reunited with you guys, can I challenge one of you to a battle?"

"Well, this is sudden," Blake stated. "Her request from back then was also pretty sudden, too. Is this just a regional thing?"

"No. Just normal Pokemon trainer actions," Seth answered.

"Sure, we're game!" Nora answered, her expression showing she wanted to battle, especially after seeing the pair of Pokehunter battles. "So, who's it gonna be? Is it Weiss again? Is it someone else?! Maybe me?!"

Seeing Nora's crazed expression, Ren intervened. "Let her decide. Give her some breathing room."

"Shouldn't we worry about Ruby and the others?" Jaune asked.

"I'm sure they'll be okay, Jaune," Pyrrha told him, knowing full well that whatever was going on with Reaper, Ruby had to handle it alone.

"Well..." Maui looked to the group, then pointed at Vanessa. "How many badges do you have?"

"Me?" Vanessa asked. "I have five of them."

"That's one more than me... Then I challenge you to fight!"

Nora slumped with a light pout at the decision, but said nothing. "You'll get your fight next time," Ren assured her.

Moments later, the team were watching as the pair of challengers took there positions on two different sides of the grassy field, with the creek nearby them.

"So what kind of battle do you want?" Vanessa asked.

"How bout a three-round knockout battle?" Maui asked.

"I'll be the referee for this fight, then," Lyanne told the pair, her hand raised. "The battle between Vanessa and Maui. There will be three rounds of one-on-one fights. The battle will decide when one trainer wins two of these fights. Are both trainers ready?"

They nodded in response.

"This'll be Vanessa's first fight outside of training with us," Jackson muttered. "Hopefully she'll do well."

"Van will do awesome!" Yang answered. "She is the one who inspired us to become trainers!"

"Trainers, choose your Pokemon!" Lyanne called to the challengers.

"I'll go first," Vanessa insisted. "I want to try out my brand-new partner. Sliggoo, go!" She brought out her newly-evolved Pokemon to the field.

"Just for info, Sliggoo is a Dragon-type Pokemon- roto," Rotom Dex informed Maui.

"Then in that case... Flybee, go!" Maui called out a Pokemon whose name everyone, including a fearful Jackson, recognized, but never seen before. It had larger wings than what it had before, making her more butterfly than bee, and wore a 'scarf' around its neck.

"Did Flybee evolve?" Ren asked, barely recognizing the Pokemon.

"Allow me to answer that- roto!" Rotom Dex answered, flying over to the sidelines. "Ribombee, the Bee Fly Pokemon, and the evolved form of Cutiefly. It can predict the weather from moisture levels and wind direction. Ribombee only reveals itself when there are a few clear days in a row."

"Please tell me you're not afraid of THAT, Jackson," Blake told the melissaphobic trainer, who was hiding behind a large, thick tree some ways away from them in anticipation to Flybee's prior appearance.

"W-Well, it certainly looks less like a bee than I thought," he stammered, stiffly making his way back to the others, but still on defense, just in case.

"Ribombee is also a Bug and Fairy-type- roto!" Rotom Dex added.

"Aren't Dragon-type moves useless against Fairy-types?" Jaune asked.

"Vanessa could have some trouble with this battle," Weiss said.

"True, but something tells me she'll be fine out there regardless of type disadvantages," Pyrrha stated.

On the field, as Pyrrha had said, Vanessa did have a plan on how to beat Flybee, especially thanks to the info Maui's Rotom Dex gave out.

"Begin the match!" Lyanne shouted.

"Flybee, Pollen Puff!" Maui ordered, and her partner created a ball of purple fluff from the air, and hurled it at Sliggoo.

"Counter with Dragon Pulse!" Vanessa shouted, as her partner unleashed a blast of dragon energy from his mouth, countering the attack in an explosion.

"Wait, when did Sliggoo learn Dragon Pulse?!" Blake questioned.

"When our Pokemon evolved, of course," Jackson answered, patting his Armaldo, which he still had out, on his head. "My buddy learned Stone Edge when he evolved, too."

"Yeah. I needed a strong Rock-type move, too," Armaldo chuckled.

"Stun Spore!" Maui ordered. Flybee flew over Sliggoo and sent yellow dust down onto him. This caused electric coursing through his body, causing him to falter from the paralysis.

"Hang in there! Use Muddy Water!" Vanessa called out.

"Grr... I won't let this beat me!" Sliggoo barked, summoning mud-filled tidal wave, going towards Ribombee.

"Dodge with Acrobatics!" Maui ordered.

"Miss me!" Flybee cheered, dodging out of the way, and coming around with a body blow that sent Sliggoo skidding back into the creek.

"Now Fairy Wind!" Flybee flew up above Sliggoo, and sent glittering winds down onto Vanessa's Pokemon, causing him to be unable to move. Even if he could, the paralysis was making it difficult to even try. Everyone was scared at the sight of how Vanessa's partner was being completely overwhelmed.

"Like that? It's a trick I managed to use to beat down the gym leader in Shalour City," Maui stated. "Her Fighting-type Pokemon were tough, but I managed to beat each of them with just Flybee by herself. Not bad, huh?."

"She must be talking about Korrina!" Pyrrha realized. "She beat her with just Flybee?!"

Vanessa looked at the situation, surprisingly calm. "I'll admit, I can see how tough it would've been for her to beat you. However..." A smile formed on her face. "I'm not Korrina, am I? And I have the best counterattack, too. Rain Dance!"

Sliggoo struggled, but used her power to create a storm right above everyone's heads. Suddenly, the rain started to pour down onto the scene, causing the heroes to grimace at being drenched upon. However, the one that was taking it worse... was Flybee.

"EW! Yuck! Yuck! Yuck!" The Ribombee was covering her head in dismay. "I can't stand the rain! Why'd you have to do that?!"

Sliggoo, on the other hand, was loving every bit of the rain, and his body glowed as the paralysis effect wore off of him.

"What happened to Sliggoo?" Weiss demanded, pulling out an umbrella she had on her person to cover herself.

"That's Sliggoo's Hydration ability," Seth explained. "When it is raining, any status effect is cured from him, including paralysis."

Maui was really perplexed at this turnabout, while Vanessa snickered.

"You know, there is such a thing as 'too much info'. There has to be a reason as to why Ribombee appear when there are at least a few consecutive clear days. And that Pollen Puff move? That practically confirmed my suspicions. There are Bug-type Pokemon out there who collects pollens from flowers, and in some cases, the rain is bad for the pollens. While your Pokemon hates the rain, Sliggo adores it."

The explanation made the Huntsmen group look at Vanessa in admiration. "And that's why she's our teach!" Yang stated in glee.

"Getting that much info from the text and self-knowledge is one of the good attributes to being a good trainer," Seth stated.

"Now, Sliggoo! Muddy Water!" Sliggoo's eyes glowed as it created a tidal wave of muddy water from its body. The move headed towards Ribombee, who was too focused on the rain to notice it. She got slammed down and covered in the mud, now taking the situation worse.

"We can't give up!" Maui shouted. "We gotta turn this around. Fairy Wind!" Flybee wiped the mud off of her face, and unleashed her glittering winds at Sliggoo.

"Endure it and use Bide!" Vanessa shouted.

Her partner endured the attack with all she had, faltering a bit due to type disadvantage, but holding her ground on the water, while the rain and the glittering winds pelted him. Flybee was really disliking her situation, as well, with mud on her body and rain falling onto her. It was a battle of endurance and tolerance to their condition. One of them was able to pull through, though.

"Now!" Vanessa shouted, and Sliggoo's eyes flashed, unleashing the stored energy from Bide as a beam right at Flybee. The Bee Fly Pokemon couldn't move in time and ended up getting consumed in the beam. An explosion occurred from the blast, and Flybee fell to the ground, her eyes dazed as she was unconscious.

"Flybee is unable to battle! Sliggoo is the winner!" Lyanne declared, raising her hand up, as the sky suddenly cleared up, thanks to Leafeon's Sunny Day to change the weather.

Vanessa raced to her partner and hugged her. "Nice one, Sliggoo! You pulled that turnabout excellently!"

"Well, that was a pretty precarious moment there," Sliggoo answered, sighing in relief.

Maui returned Flybee to her Pokeball. "That was an excellent fight. We'll train harder next time." She looked up to Vanessa, who returned Sliggoo to her own Pokeball. "Now that was an intense fight! I can see how you ended up earning those badges."

"Thanks. I'm grateful for my partner for hanging it in there for me to win that fight," Vanessa stated. "Hopefully, this next fight will be just as exciting!"

"Oh, trust me. It's gonna knock your socks off!" Maui pulled out another Pokeball. "Let me show you this toughy. Go, Boxer!" She called out a Pokemon none of the team has seen before. It was a lobster-looking Pokemon, with a purple and beige body, blue boxing glove-like pincers, and blue-tipped feet and underbelly.

"Alright. Who's gonna be in the ring with me?" he asked in a Sylvester Stallone-styled voice, putting up its pincers up like a boxer ready to fight.

"Who is that Pokemon?" Vanessa asked, pulling out her Pokedex.

"Please allow me- roto!" Rotom Dex insisted, flying in front of her. "Crabrawler, the Boxing Pokemon. Its hard pincers are well suited to both offense and defense. Fights between two Crabrawler are like boxing matches."

"I thought it would be a Water-type Pokemon, but it's a pure Fighting-type," Vanessa muttered, looking at the info. "In that case, I'll just counteract its type with my own type advantage. Braxien, let's go!" She called out her first Pokemon partner to the battlefield, who twirled her flaming stick like a baton, before readying it to fight.

"I'll roast this lobster until there's nothing left," she assured her trainer.

"I'd like to see you try, sweetheart," Boxer answered, raising his fists up to begin the fight.

"Begin round 2!" Lyanne shouted.

"Flame Charge!" Vanessa called out first. Braixen charged forward at the order, encased in fiery energy.

"Take the hit, Boxer!" Maui shouted. Boxer managed to protect himself with his pincers, taking the full blow of the attack. "Now Payback!" With stored up energy, Boxer punched Braxien back with great force and sent her flying hard.

"That's gotta hurt," Nora grimaced.

"Given that it's a type-advantage move, and that the attack doubled after taking damage, Payback had to have dealt a powerful blow to Braxien," Crescythe stated.

"You okay, Braxien?" Vanessa asked her partner.

"That attack? It's nothing compared to what we went through over there," the Fox Pokemon answered, though the attack did do some pretty tough damage to her.

"I must warn you, your Braxien wasn't the best choice against me," Maui told Vanessa. "I learned enough from my battle with Weiss to know how to counteract that Pokemon, especially with my Boxer." Her Crabrawler chuckled at this.

"Well, you haven't dealt with my Braixen," Vanessa retorted. "Use Psyshock!" Braxien opened her mouth and fired a ball of psychic energy towards her target.

"Power-up Punch!" Boxer's claw was encased in orange energy, in which he slammed the attack into Braxien's Psyshock, creating an explosion that canceled both sides' moves. The successful attack caused Boxer to glow, his strength increasing. "Follow it up with Bubblebeam!" Boxer then unleashed a stream of bubbles from his claws.

"Light Screen!" Vanessa ordered. Her Braixen created a barrier that halved the damage of the Bubblebeam attack.

'I can't have Braixen go in for another close-ranged attack like that again. Gotta use long-ranged attacks from now on,' Vanessa thought.

"Fire Spin!" Braxien unleashed a fiery cyclone that encased Crabrawler in a cyclone of flames. This was causing the Boxing Pokemon constant pain from the attack.

"Ha! I can counter that, too!" Maui shouted. "Boxer, Crabhammer on the ground!"

"I can take away this heat!" Boxer declared, this time encasing his claws in water, and slammed them on the ground. This caused the watery energy to rise up and extinguish the Fire Spin, thus creating a mist in the air.

"What the-!" Vanessa gasped, surprised to see her attack diminished.

"We can't see anything!" Yang exclaimed.

"I can," Seth retorted, his aura recovered enough from their last fight to activate his Semblance. He could see Crabrawler leap forward through the mist, charging for Braxien.

"Crabhammer, again!" Maui shouted.

Before Braxien could see the Pokemon come, Boxer was close enough to slug her with a watery claw, sending her flying back to Vanessa's feet, unable to continue.

"Braxien is unable to battle. Boxer is the winner!" Lyanne declared, signaling the end of the second match.

Everyone looked saddened at Vanessa's loss, while she helped Braxien to a sitting position. "Thanks for all your hard work, Braxien," she told her. "Guess we underestimated that Pokemon."

"Yeah. That's for sure," Braxien agreed, looking to Boxer, who was raising his fists in the air in victory, while Maui looked smug at her win. "We've really been out of the loop when fighting proper trainer battles. We have got to get stronger and smarter than this."

"You're right," Vanessa agreed, looking at Maui, as well. "And I think I know how to turn the tide. It'll be a gamble, but hopefully it'll pay off." She returned Braxien to her Pokeball. "Hey, Maui! Let's try something for our last round!"

"Try something out? What do you mean?" She asked, returning Boxer to his Pokeball.

"Let's pick out our final Pokemon, and call them out as one. Choose who you feel confident in winning with."

Maui pondered on it a bit, then smiled. "Sounds fun to me. Let's do it!"

"This'll be a risky move," Seth noted. "This way, they can't tell if they'll have a type advantage over the other or not. Vanessa could choose the wrong Pokemon, and she'll be at the disadvantage."

"Oh, come on! Have a little faith in her," Nora said to him, wearing what seemed to be a cheerleading uniform. "She's definitely got this, no matter who picks what."

Everyone on the sidelines stared at the N of JNPR. "Nora... When did you change clothes?" Ren asked.

"Don't mind it~" she answered.

Back on the battlefield, the two trainers pulled out their final Pokeballs, raising them forward. "We each picked the Pokemon we'll be using," Vanessa told Maui. "Let's call them out together."

"Alright. I'm ready when you are," she said.

"Go!" the pair shouted together and tossed their balls, calling out their selected partners.

For Vanessa, she called out Venasaur. For Maui, she had a Pokemon that was familiar to the huntsmen group, but new. It looked like Popper, only now they assumed she evolved. She was a large sea lion-like Pokémon than before, though also looking very mermaid-like, too. She had a white body, light blue hair with white beads tying it back, a starfish hair ornament, frills on its' head and parts of its' blue tail, which had pink spiked fins around it.

"Who is that?" Weiss asked, enamored by the new Pokemon. "It's beautiful to look at."

"Primarina, the Soloist Pokemon, and the final evolved form of Popplio," Rotom Dex explained. "To Primarina, every battle is a stage. It takes down its prey with beautiful singing and dancing."

"Popper must've evolved then," Lyanne stated.

"Correct- roto!"

"Sounds like a Pokemon that's right up your alley," Jackson told Weiss.

"Primarina is also a Water and Fairy-type- roto," Rotom Dex added.

"If that's true, and with Venasaur being a Grass and Poison-type..." Pyrrha trailed off.

"Vanessa has the advantage!" Yang cheered.

"So you ended up the lucky one in type-advantage," Maui told Vanessa. "But Popper and I are the best in-sync team ever. And we have the moves that'll prove that!"

"Our unity is like a duet that cannot be out-sung, no matter how much you crescendo," Popper told the pair.

"I'd like to see them," Vanessa responded. "Venasaur and I will show you our bond in battle, too!"

"We have some tricks ourselves," Venasaur told them. "No way can we lose to you!"

"Begin the match!" Lyanne shouted, raising her hand to start the final round.

Meanwhile, with Ruby and Crescythe, they ran quite far away from the others during their chase with Reaper. As they ran, Ruby wondered what had gotten into Reaper, for him to act the way he did. Being unmotivated to battle was one thing, but this? This was something else. She wondered if it had to do with what that Ryan trainer said, but that couldn't be it, could it?

Eventually, the pair found the shiny Scyther, who was striking a big tree. "Damn it... Damn it!" the Bug-type cursed in each strike.

"Reaper," Ruby called, getting his attention. "There you are. Why'd you run off like that?"

"I didn't run," Reaper corrected.

"Regardless, even as you are now, that's unlike you," Crescythe pointed out. "What was that back there?"

Reaper stayed silent at the question.

"Reaper, I'm your trainer. I can't help you if I don't know what's wrong with you," Ruby told him.

The shiny Scyther was silent for a little longer, until finally... "I told you that I had a trainer once."

Crescythe raised a brow at this, for that piece of info was news to her. Ruby, on the other hand, said, "Yeah, you told me that once. Back when we were having that Sky Battle with Jackson and his Scizor."

"Take a good guess who that guy back there was."

Ruby tilted her head, not sure where the conversation was going, until she pieced together the story. "Wait... You mean Ryan was your trainer?"

"The very same. Small world, isn't it? The trainer who abandoned me returned to my life, and he doesn't even know that I'm the same Scyther he went and betrayed," Reaper said.

"Reaper, if you're mad at your trainer for abandoning you... I can't say I understand that, as I've never had anyone abandon me. But if you're mad enough to want to fight him, get back at him for selling you away, we can do that."

"I'm not mad at him," Reaper corrected, much to his trainer and Crescythe's confusion. "I'm more mad at myself than I am at him."

Hearing those words, Ruby's eyes brightened up, hoping her Scyther meant what she thought he meant. "And what are you going to do with that anger? Surely you're not going to just sulk here forever! You're going to go back out there, train hard, and be back to your battle-crazed self!"

"Are you encouraging him or ordering him?" Crescythe asked her partner, for Ruby's words of support sounded more like a command, as well as an insult.

"I don't think you get it at all, Red," Reaper said. "Looking back at all those times with Ryan, comparing it to my adventures with you, I did not feel the least bit stronger to back then. If anything, I feel like I got weaker since then, only convincing myself otherwise only to run from the past."

Hearing that saddened Ruby. She had hoped Reaper would at the very least want to do battle after seeing his previous trainer again. But seeing her Scyther as he was now, she wasn't sure.

"There's that Scyther!" came Ryan's voice.

Ruby and her Pokemon turned and saw the guy catching up to them, though he seemed out of breath as he approached them. "Whew... How do you have that sort of stamina, kid? Maybe I really did underestimate ya," he stated.

"Right..." Ruby answered in an unsure tone. "And... why are you here?"

"I wanted... to battle that Scyther... But let me catch my breath..."

The otherworldly huntress could only nod at the response, while her two Pokemon stare at Ryan.

Once Ryan started catching his breath, he turned to Reaper. "You know, I had a shiny Scyther once," he began. "He was a real toughie, that's for sure, and I don't mean just because he's a shiny. He and I, we were like the best duo way back when. But then he found a new home in some woods and we decided to split off from there."

Ruby furrowed her brows at the obvious lie he had told, but chose to say nothing. As much as she wanted to tell him off for lying and abandoning his sworn friend, she knew he wouldn't believe her if she told him she heard the whole story from Reaper himself.

"Although, if I have to say, looking at that Scyther right now, he actually seems weaker from my own Scyther," Ryan added.

"What was that? And what makes you think that?" Ruby questioned.

"Compared to the one I used to own, your Scyther has this expression that says the world is going to end. Good guess of that face is because it lost so many battles, and hasn't won a single one. Plus, a strong Scyther is suppose to be strong enough to easily fell a tree. I see a tree with scratch marks on it; that Scyther is actually weak!"

"Hey! Don't talk about Reaper like that!"

"What she said!" Crescythe agreed with Ruby, while Reaper looked down on himself in shame.

"If you really think Reaper is as weak as you say, then battle me!" Ruby then challenged.

"You wish. I don't battle against weaklings, so save yourself the embarrassment," Ryan refused.

"You don't want to challenge me because I'm too weak, or because I'm too strong against you," Ruby dared.

A tick mark appeared on the guy's face. "What was that?" he questioned.

"So it is, isn't it?! You said Jackson and Seth are the strong trainers while my friends and I are their porters, when really, it's more of the other way around! You're scared of strong trainers!"

"You want to say that again, pipsqueak?!"

"Maybe I will, after a battle."

"You are so going to regret it!"

While the guy was fuming in anger, Ruby mentally fist pumped in victory. 'Heheh. Just like how Yang dealt with those bullies,' she thought.

Back to the rest of the gang...

"Razor Leaf!"

"Icy Wind!"

The two trainers battling shouted out their commands to their partners, both whom either unleashed a storm of leaves or a blast of freezing winds at each other. The breath froze the leaves and diminishing them.

"Don't think we weren't prepared to handle Grass-types," Maui warned Vanessa.

"Then how about this? Toxic!" At the blonde-banged trainer's command, Venasaur unleashed a deluge of poison from his mouth, hurling it at Popper.

"Sparkling Aria!" Maui called out. Her partner unleashed a large ball of water from her nose as she sung, shooting smaller bubbles from it that not only stopped the Toxic, but pelted Venasaur as well.

"She's counteracting anything Vanessa throws at her!" Pyrrha noticed.

"Let's go for the offense, ourselves! Double Slap!" Maui shouted. Primarina flipped forward and started smacking Venasaur across the face a few times.

"Point-blank Razor Leaf!" Vanessa called out.

"Get out of my face!" Venasaur growled, as he unleashed several sharp leaves that struck Popper, knocking her back to her partner's side. "Now, Grass Knot!" Venasaur's eyes then glowed, and grass tied itself up from behind, catching Popper's tail, and making her flip onto her back painfully.

"You okay, Popper?" Maui asked, worried.

"I can still sing a tune," she responded, getting back up again.

"Then give Venasaur an Encore!" she ordered. Popper clapped her hands, sending sound waves that struck Venasaur, making him glow slightly.

"What did they do?" Yang asked.

"Encore causes the target to only use the move they used last for a while," Seth explained. "That might not be a good thing for Vanessa and Venasaur, since they can only now use Grass Knot."

"Popper won't even have to move about, so Grass Knot won't trip us up!" Maui told the disgruntled Vanessa and Venasaur. "Let's use Icy Wind!"

"An icy aria coming your way!" Popper sung, unleashing a blast of icy wind that struck Venasaur, damaging him constantly, and freezing him in his place.

"Get out of there, Venasaur!" Leafeon shouted.

"He can barely move!" Jaune noticed.

Vanessa gritted her teeth at the situation. "Grass Knot can be used more than just tripping you up. Grab her arms!" Venasaur looked up with one eye, which glowed. The grass around Popper grew to great lengths, and grabbed her fins. They pulled her to the ground, causing her to go face-first, bopping her nose in the process.

"Ouch! Why would you harm my snout in such a manner?!" Popper questioned.

"I did not think Grass Knot could be used for something like that," Maui admitted in slight bafflement. "Gotta say, you're full of surprises."

"If you think that's good, I got something extra special for you!" Vanessa growled, readying her Mega Ring.

"She's gonna do it!" Nora squealed. "She's gonna unleash the secret weapon!"

"Venasaur, let's give these guys the taste of our bond, and Mega Evolve!" Vanessa declared, tapping the Keystone, and causing energy to burst forth from it. Venasaur's own Mega Stone shined bright, and steamed out energy to connect with the Keystone's energy. Within moments, Venasaur Mega-evolved into his new form, roaring for battle.

"So you can Mega-Evolve, too, eh? Just like Korrina?" Maui asked. "But I dealt a good deal of damage against him. That won't make a difference, especially when I use this!" She pulled out something that looked like the Mega Ring, only it had a very different design. Plus, there was a blue diamond prism on it, with a black design of Primarina on it.

"What is that?" Weiss asked. "Is that a Keystone?"

"No, but I'm pretty sure I know what it is," Jackson answered. "I've heard that the Alola region has a different kind of power compared to Mega Evolution. The power to harmonize with your Pokemon and nature, and create a powerful attack to burst forth. That thing has to be!"

"Let's do it!" Maui declared, crossing her arms in front of her, causing the crystal on her ring to shine, and her own body to glow a blue aura. She started to do a dance, which Popper was mimicking in synchronization, as she chanted, "The aria of the sea, and the orchestra of the Alolan islands merge together. Create! The symphony of the waters!" The power that surrounded Maui was transferred to Popper. "Oceanic Operetta!"

The beads on Popper's hair came undone, causing it to flow behind her as she sung a gorgeous melody, whiles creating an extremely large water bubble in front of her face, raising it high. She then sent it going towards Venasaur, both he and Vanessa amazed at the power coming at them, but not too amazed to have their guard down. Once it got close, Maui pointed fingers upwards, and Popper sung one last note. The massive bubble exploded over Mega Venasaur, catching him in the mixture of a watery explosion, rain, and symphonic soundwaves.

The others were just in awe at the sight of the beautiful and powerful attack. "So gorgeous..." Weiss muttered, looking the most amazed out of them all.

"Wait! I almost forgot that Venasaur was in the middle of that!" Nora exclaimed.

"Did he survive?!" Jaune questioned, worried for Vanessa's partner. Everyone watched the spot where Vanessa and Mega Venasaur stood, the mist clearing. They came out of it, damaged from the attack, but fortunately still in one piece. They all gave a sigh of relief.

"Impressive!" Maui exclaimed. "You survived that?"

"We've been hit by much worse..." Mega Venasaur compared, thinking of the other dimension they were trapped in.

"I don't know if you were just showing off, but that was still a Water-type move on a Grass-type Pokemon," Vanessa pointed out. "You should've realized that wouldn't have done as much as you hoped! Now it's our turn!"

"Vanessa, the Encore wore off on me!" Mega Venasaur declared.

"Then hit her with Razor Leaf!" Vanessa shouted.

"Oh, I can do better!" Mega Venasaur roared, and thorns sprouted from his back, entangling around Popper's neck, and causing her to be drained of her energy.

"What the heck?!" Yang gasped.

"That's Giga Drain!" Lyanne noticed. Mega Venasaur's body glowed, as his energy was being restored.

"Don't let him have a chance to fully recover! Break free and use Icy Wind!" Maui pleaded. Popper yanked herself away from the attack, and blasted Mega Venasaur with icy breath. The attack struck him, but he wasn't as affected as he was before, startling Maui.

"That's Mega Venasaur's Thick Fat ability. It's weakening your Ice-type move on him," Vanessa explained. "Toxic, let's go!" Mega Venasaur shot a gunk of poison at Popper, striking her in the face, and creating an explosion of poison. It died down, but the powerful poison was now affecting her.

"Stay strong! Use Sparkling Aria!" Maui called out.

"I'm sorry... I'm having a hard time being able to sing..." Popper muttered, too exhausted from both the poison and the strength to unleash the Z-Move.

"Let's end this! Venoshock!" Vanessa shouted. Mega Venasaur shot the attack from his mouth. It struck Popper in the gut, knocking her out and onto her back.

"Popper is unable to battle! Venasaur is the winner!" Lyanne declared. "The victory of this match is Vanessa!" The said girl gave a fist pump as Mega Venasaur reverted back to normal. Everyone else watching the fight was cheering for their teacher and best friend. They all rushed to her, Nora being the first to hug her and made her tumble down. Leafeon led the other Pokemon to Venasaur, congratulating him for his win.

"Oh yes! That's our girl!" Nora cheered, arm wrapped around Vanessa's neck in a tight hug.

"N-Nora! Can't... breathe!" Vanessa wheezed out.

"Okay, Nora. Give her some room to breathe," Ren told his childhood friend, managing to separate the pair.

Maui walked over to Popper and prepped her up. "Popper, are you okay?" she asked.

"Oh... I'm okay," Popper answered, not that she would understand it.

"You did great out there. Have a nice rest." With that, Maui returned her to her Pokeball. She then got up and walked over to Vanessa. "Guess you really got those badges through skill, and a bit of mischievous. I've never seen Grass Knot used that way."

"Well, there are times when you have to think outside the box in battle," Vanessa pointed out, in which Maui nodded in understanding.

"But man you two were awesome! Too bad Ruby missed it," Yang said.

"Speaking of, she's been gone for quite a while," Weiss pointed out.

"There's also that Ryan guy, too," Blake added.

"I'm getting worried. Let's go find them," Jackson suggested.

The group agreed to the idea and went to search for their missing friend.

With Ruby and her team, the girl was getting ready for her battle against Ryan. On her field were Crescythe and Reaper. While one of them was more than eager to battle, the other... wasn't feeling it.

"Red, you don't need to use me for this battle," Reaper tried to tell her.

"Of course I do! You need this more than you think!" Ruby insisted.

On the other side of the field, Ryan was getting himself ready. "All right then, Red Riding Hood. You think you're so good? Let's see those weak Pokemon of yours handle these guys! Go!" He tossed a pair of Pokeballs in the air. Both opened up, and unleashed the Pokemon within.

From one ball, a bipedal dark blue poison dart frog appeared. Its eyes were bright yellow, it had a bulbous red vocal sac, and it has a red claw on each its hand. From the other ball, a large brownish-grey Pokemon covered in orange rocky plates appeared. It was quite bulky, and it had two horns on its head, plus it had holes in the palm of its hands.

Ruby took out her Pokedex to analyze the two Pokemon. "Toxicroak, the Toxic Mouth Pokemon. Its knuckle claws secrete a toxin so vile that even a scratch could prove fatal. Rhyperior, the Drill Pokemon. From holes in its palms, it fires out Geodude. Its carapace can withstand volcanic eruptions."

"He fires out a what?" Ruby questioned with wide eyes. She had seen Geodude, and she knew those guys would be a bit big for the hole in Rhyperior's palm.

"Hope you're ready to lose over there!" Ryan exclaimed. "First to strike wins! Toxicroak, Poison Jab that Absol! Rhyperior, Rock Blast on the Scyther!" His pair of Pokemon unleashed their selected attacks upon order at their chosen targets.

"Crescythe, Reaper! Double Team!" Ruby called.

"Right!" the Absol nodded, creating clones of herself and successfully avoiding the Poison Jab. Reaper, on the other hand, as he had no interest nor motivation to battle, took the Rock Blast attack head on.

"Reaper!" Ruby gasped in shock.

"Are you okay?!" Crescythe asked.

"I'm fine," Reaper answered.

"Whoa, that Scyther is slow to follow up on your command," Ryan said. "A Scyther as slow as that. No wonder why it's weak."

Reaper looked down at his former trainer's words in shame, while both Ruby and Crescythe got riled up by his insult.

"We'll make you pay for that!" the Absol swore.

"Crescythe, Aerial Ace on Toxicroak!" At Ruby's command, the Dark-type Pokemon charged in her target.

"Amateur move. Block it!" Ryan shouted, as his Rhyperior walked between Toxicroak and Crescythe and simply raised its arms up. He took the Aerial Ace attack at full force, which practically did nothing to him.

"What?!" Ruby and Crescythe both gasped.

"Now Megahorn!" Rhyperior separated his arms and took a strong step forward, striking Crescythe with his glowing horn and knocking her back to her trainer's field.

"Crescythe! Are you okay?!" Ruby asked.

"Heh. Your brain's as small as your Pokemon are weak! Don't you know Flying-type moves are hopeless against a Pokemon like Rhyperior?" Ryan mocked, much to her annoyance.

Shakily, the Absol got back up and answered, "I'm okay, Ruby." She then glared at their opponents and asked, "Ruby. Shall we do that thing?"

"No, Crescythe. For a jerk like him? Using that would make this battle pointless."

Crescythe nodded in understanding. "Right."

Reaper, on the other hand, looked to his trainer in bafflement. Why not use it? He saw from his Pokeball how powerful Crescythe's new form is; if the two of them pull it off, they'd be wiping the floor with his previous trainer and his Pokemon.

"If you're done talking to yourself, Rhyperior, another Rock Blast! Toxicroak, use Poison Jab again!" The pair of Pokemon used their pair of moves again.

"Crescythe, block with Psycho Cut! Reaper, knock the rocks away with Fury Cutter!" Ruby countered.

As Crescythe was going to block her opponent's attack with her own, at the last second, Toxicroak moved away from her, changing his target to the vulnerable Reaper. "Oh no!"

And just like before, Reaper didn't do anything to protect himself from the barrage of attacks, taking the full force from both sides. "Gah!"

"Reaper!" Ruby called in worry. "Crescythe, help him out!"

"I hear you!" the Absol nodded, turning to unleash her attack at Toxicroak.

"Sucker Punch!" At Ryan's command, the Toxic Mouth Pokemon changed course, appearing right at Crescythe's face at point blank, and landed a punch right at her abdomen, knocking her into a tree. The hit was so strong and sudden, it forced her to cancel out her Psycho Cut.

"Crescythe, no!" Ruby cried out.

Toxicroak let out a croaky chuckle. "Hey, hey. Is there something wrong with your pal there? He doesn't seem to have the right mind for this battle here."

"Hah! All that talk, and your Pokemon are nothing but wussies!" Ryan mocked. "Compared to my team, they're nothing but pebbles on the side of the road!"

Crescythe shakily got up, her face purple as purple bubbles floated out of her. "Damn it... I got poisoned..."

"Crescythe! Can you still keep going?!" Ruby asked.

"Of course I can... But more than that..." The Absol looked past her opponent right at Reaper, who also shakily stood back up and got poisoned. "Reaper... What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

"It's not like... I asked to be a part of this battle," he reasoned, struggling with the poison status. "Both you and Red decided this yourselves."

"This coming from the very Pokemon... who'd usually go happy-go-lucky at the mention of a fight? What happened to that very Pokemon?!" Reaper turned away at the question. "Reaper... I don't know if you truly noticed, but right now, you truly are acting as pathetic as your former trainer said!"

"Whoa, Crescythe! Isn't that going a bit-?"

"He needs to hear this, Ruby!" the Absol snapped. "You've been acting this way since we lost to those Dark Legendaries... You're not the only one who lost! More than that, you think you're the only one whose pride got hurt? Shanti lost horribly despite having just evolved to his final form, I lost my Mega Evolution to one of those Dark Legendaries, and you don't see me moping about it! Granted, I was given a power similar, if not stronger than my Mega Evolution, and it's also true that I was also sulking over the loss, but I still overcame that despair... because I was not alone! If you truly think you're the only one who lost that battle, you're the only one who has the right to keep moping over that loss, than what would that make the rest of us?!"

All Reaper could do in response to her words, was look down, unresponsive.

"Reaper!"

"That Absol sure does like to bark the bark," Ryan stated. "Well, these next two hits should decide it. Venoshock and Horn Drill!" His pair of Pokemon used their called attacks at their obvious targets; Reaper for Rhyperior, and Crescythe for Toxicroak.

"Oh no! Dodge it, both of you!" Ruby called out.

Crescythe knew she couldn't dodge the Venoshock in time, and she also knew Reaper was going to let the Horn Drill hit, the way he was now. 'It's better if one of us is taken out!' she thought, gathering whatever strength she had left to use Aerial Ace and shot through the Venoshock.

Toxicroak was quite shocked to see the Absol had enough strength to pull off such a reckless move, and even more so when she shot past him. Looking back, he noticed where she was going to. 'She's going to save her comrade in that condition?!'

Reaper, on the other hand, only looked at the Horn Drill coming his way. 'All this time... all that training to get stronger... all those battles I won... and for what? I couldn't help my new trainer stop those guys from even taking the Mega Stone away. That loss... is more frustrating than back when I lost to that hunter...! I-' Suddenly, he felt something push him away from the attack. Glancing at the source, he saw it was Crescythe who pushed him, as well as something else. Next he knew, the Absol took the Horn Drill meant for him.

"Crescythe!" Ruby cried out in worry.

Rhyperior ended the attack and distanced himself from Crescythe, who fell unconscious.

"That's one down," Ryan said with a smirk.

"Crescythe! Are you okay?" Ruby asked, rushing to the downed Absol's side.

Crescythe weakly regained conscious and looked up at her partner. "I'm fine..." she answered.

"Take a good rest, Crescythe. You deserve it." As Ruby took out her Absol's pokeball, Crescythe placed a paw on it and lowered the ball. "Crescythe?"

"Leave me out... I want to see this to the end in person." Crescythe turned to Reaper, who only looked at her in surprise. "This battle... It's all on you now, Reaper..."

"Why... did you take that hit?" the shiny poisoned Scyther asked. "That should've been me."

Before she could answer, Ryan said, "Hey, pipsqueak! How about you give up on this battle and that Scyther? It's because of that useless Pokemon that you're in this mess, you know. A Pokemon like that has no place at all for trainers. It's not even putting up a fight."

"No way! This battle isn't over until it is over! If you think Reaper is really useless in a battle, then you have no right to be called a trainer yourself!" Ruby retorted. "He may be out of his groove now, but Reaper is one of the best Pokemon I know! He's super determined, and stubborn, and he always give his all in his training! Not only that, but he even helped out my Pokemon in their own training! If that really is the act of a weak, useless Pokemon, then Reaper is the best weak, useless Pokemon!"

As she said this, Reaper silently looked at the ground, slowly succumbing to the shame and guilt for his weakness. 'What is Red talking about? When did I...?' He thought back to when he joined her team and started taking charge in training the other Pokemon, how he was pushing them all to their limits. He didn't recall helping them out, per say, though there were Pokemon who were having a hard time with the training regime, Pokemon in which he advised to do the training differently to best suit them.

"Reaper always... give everything he got in battle, and he never fails to get the job done. Such an act is only something a true Pokemon would do for their trainer. I am proud to fight alongside such a Pokemon, even if it means giving my life for that Pokemon!" Crescythe added.

Those words made Reaper think back to when he and Ruby first connected, when she risked her own life to save his in that one Sky Battle. More than that, he recalled something else in that battle.

"I wanted to prove to you that I WAS someone you could trust. I want you to do that, so you and I can be friends."

"He's my partner, and more importantly my friend, so stop putting him down!"

Those memories, mixed with Ruby and Crescythe's words... Reaper couldn't believe how slow and utterly stupid he was.

Ryan just scoffed at his words. "Hah! Big words from a little girl with weak-"

Reaper smacked himself in the face hard with his blades, interrupting the guy, as blood started to trail down both his cheeks, to everyone's shock.

"Heh... How stupid could I be this whole time...?" he spoke. "Being a trainer's Pokemon isn't just about winning battles to satisfy your partner. It's about the trust you have. I've been so focused on getting stronger, focused on the past, I forgot what it's like to fully trust someone, no matter what. A good trainer would keep winning battles with their strong Pokemon. But a great trainer fights and gets stronger with their Pokemon, no matter the loss." Fighting against the poison, Reaper stood back up and glared at his opponents. "Ruby Rose... is a far better trainer than you, Ryan!"

Hearing that declaration and seeing his newfound determination brought joy to Ruby and Crescythe's face.

Ryan, who could only her Pokemon language from Reaper's mouth, only clicked his tongue in annoyance. "I don't know why, but I feel like you said something that pissed me off. Put that weak Pokemon out of his misery! Rock Blast!"

"Time to say good night now!" Rhyperior said, shooting more rocks right at Reaper.

"Reaper, use Fury Cutter!" Ruby called.

"I'll do you one better... and rid myself of this stupid poison!" Suddenly, Reaper's blades glowed purple, and crossed them in front of himself. He then opened his arms and fired a purple x-shaped energy blade at the Rock Blast. The move broke through the rocks, and struck Rhyperior.

"What the-?!" Ryan gasped.

"Whoa! Was that a new move?!" Ruby gasped, looking it up from her Pokedex. "Let's see... Cross Poison. A Poison-type slashing move that has a chance of inflicting poison to the opponent, and has high critical-rate ratio?!"

"Looks like that newfound determination helped him learn that move," Crescythe said, proud that the Mantis Pokemon had finally gotten out of his slump.

"Ah... Now that... is better," Reaper said, his face reverting back to its dark green color and bubbles no longer leaving his body.

"He broke through the poison, too?!" Ryan questioned in shock.

"All right, no more holding back!" the shiny Scyther declared.

"You got it, Reaper! Get in there with Aerial Ace!" Ruby ordered. Reaper was more than happy to oblige, as he rushed at his pair of opponents with his blades glowing.

"That's what you think! Sucker Punch!" At Ryan's call, Toxicroak stood in front of the shiny Scyther and threw a punch at Reaper. The shiny Scyther stood his ground and brought one of his blades down at his opponent, dealing massive damage to him to the point where Toxicroak was forced to be down on a knee.

"He's that strong?!" Ryan gasped.

"Give him another Aerial Ace!" Ruby called.

"This is for Crescythe!" Reaper exclaimed, jabbing both glowing blades at Toxicroak and flew him straight into a tree. Not only did the tree get knocked down by the collision, Toxicroak slumped down with swirls in his eyes in defeat.

"Toxicroak got defeated?!" Ryan questioned in shock.

"Yes! Only one more to go!" Ruby cheered.

Ryan quickly recovered from his shock and glared at Ruby. "You only got lucky! Don't think your Scyther is strong enough to take down Rhyperior! Rock Blast!"

"Go down!" Rhyperior shouted, shooting more rocks at Reaper.

"Fury Cutter!" Ruby called out, and her Scyther cut each of them down with ease.

"Get in closer!" At Ryan's words, Rhyperior approached Reaper while he was still firing his Rock Blast at him, only for no change to occur, aside from how fast Reaper was cutting down the rocks. Seeing how easy the shiny Scyther was blocking them annoyed Ryan to no end. "Heat Crash it! Crush that bug now!" At that order, Rhyperior ceased his Rock Blast and was engulfed in flames, tackling Reaper down.

Ruby and Crescythe gasped in worry while Ryan smirked at his victory. Well, what he thought was a victory.

"Compared to that one battle I dealt with..." Reaper spoke, struggling through both the flames and Rhyperior's weight with his still-active Fury Cutter, as a familiar green aura surrounded his body. "These flames and your weight... are nothing!" To the Drill Pokemon and its trainer's shock, Reaper managed to forced the big guy back, sending him tumbling on his back.

"Nice going, Reaper!" Ruby cheered.

"And a good timing on that Swarm ability, too," Crescythe added.

Ryan slightly panicked upon seeing Reaper's true strength, but quickly tried to calm himself and gave his next command. "Get back up, Rhyperior! Do not let that bug have its way! Rock Blast!" Rhyperior sat up and fired more rocks from his palms.

"Get in close with Aerial Ace!" Ruby shouted. Reaper did as ordered and rushed closer to his foe, avoiding the rocks as he flew by. "Cross Poison!" Once he was at point-blank, Reaper slashed Rhyperior in an 'x' formation, then uncrossed his arms and fired another dose of his x-shaped energy blade at point-blank, dealing critical damage that time, as well as pushed the bigger Pokemon back.

"Get up! Get up right now!" Ryan cried frantically to his Rhyperior. "No... This can't happen again... Not again! I got strong Pokemon just so I don't lose like that time! I barely escaped with my life the last time I lost!"

"You mean when you abandoned your own Pokemon to a hunter?" Ruby questioned, getting his attention. "I heard about what you did. And guess what? You may think Reaper is just another shiny Scyther, but he knows you more than you think!"

"What are you talking about? The last time I saw a shiny Scyther-" Ryan stopped his talking when he caught on to the first half of what she said and turned back to Reaper. "Wait... Are you... my Scyther?"

"Not your's anymore," Reaper retorted. Even if he didn't understand what the shiny Pokemon said, just a glare and the growl alone were enough to confirm it. "You abandoned me to save your own hide, when you promised we'd be inseparable. Talk about karma biting back. The very Pokemon you abandoned is back and stronger than ever. Which brings me to... what was that about me being weak?" Reaper grinded his blades together, similar to how one would crack their knuckles.

"W-W-W-Wait a second, Scyther! You got that day all wrong, I swear! I was going to come back for you, but it wasn't easy finding a stronger Pokemon!" Ryan reasoned.

"Enough lies, scum." Even if the boy didn't know what Reaper said, one look at the hardened glare was enough to tell him that talk was pointless.

"R-Rhyperior! Heat Crash!" Ryan cried out.

"No hard feelings... but we're in the middle of battle!" Rhyperior said as he got back up. Before he could ignite, however, his face turned purple, and familiar bubbles left his body.

"It's poison from Cross Poison!" Crescythe identified.

"Reaper! Let's finish this match! Use Fury Cutter!" Ruby called.

"Gotcha, Ruby!" Turning back to his poisoned opponent, Reaper struck hard with his called Swarm-boosted Bug-type move. After a few seconds of silence, the Drill Pokemon fell to its side, eyes swirled up in defeat.

"N-No way... My ultimate duo..." Ryan stuttered.

Reaper faced his former partner once more, causing the guy to freeze up. He took a shaky step back, only to fall on his butt and look at the shiny Pokemon in fear. In his eyes that only sought strong Pokemon since his loss against the Pokemon hunter, he saw the very Pokemon he had abandoned now living up to his nickname.

"D-Don't come here... Don't come any closer!" he cried out, as Reaper was now at arms length away from him. The shiny Scyther raised his arm, much to Ryan's horror and Ruby's worry.

"Reaper, what are you doing?!" she asked.

"Wait," Crescythe told her, a calm, neutral look in her eyes. "It's fine."

Ryan, who didn't know what the Absol said nor even heard her, shook horribly at the sight of Reaper's blade, the edge coated in the Pokemon's own blood. As the Scyther brought the arm down, he let out a shriek as he was sure he was going to die. ... Until the blade stopped at his neck.

"I see you again... And you won't even have a shred of dignity left in you," Reaper threatened. Seconds later, Ryan himself fainted, and the Scyther returned to his trainer's side. "Sorry I went a little far."

"You have nothing to apologize for, Reaper. If anything, he had that coming. Mostly," Ruby pardoned.

"Feeling back to your old self?" Crescythe asked.

"Yeah. Sorry it took a while for me to realize it," Reaper apologized again. "I should've known you were nothing like Ryan. You wouldn't just abandon me after a big loss, like the way he did."

"That's why you were so gloomy?" Ruby asked. "Of course I wouldn't do that. You're my Pokemon, my friend, my teammate, my family. I would never force you to leave, no matter how many times you lost or how big of a loss it was. Here I was thinking you would want to leave."

Reaper nervously looked away at those words. "The thought may have crossed my mind a few times..."

"If it did, why didn't you do it?" Crescythe asked.

"I guess the part of me that still believed in Red made me stay. And it's a good thing I did."

Hearing that made his trainer and fellow Pokemon happy.

"Well, looks like we have nothing to worry about now," came Jackson's voice.

The trio turned to the woods and saw the whole group there.

"How long were you guys there?!" Ruby asked.

"Around the time when Crescythe got defeated," Vanessa answered. "Still, good for you, Ruby."

"Yeah! Good ol' Reaper is back to his old self!" Yang cheered.

"Yeah! He totally went and broke some bones!" Nora exclaimed.

"Maybe a little too much into his old self," Weiss said, recalling how the Mantis Pokemon somehow endured the Heat Crash attack, as well as how he threatened Ryan at the end.

"Ryan is going to be okay, right?" Maui asked.

"Someone tell her that so-called 'trainer' only fainted," Reaper said.

"He'll be just fine," Seth instead said. "Though someone might wanna look after him until he wakes."

Maui raised a brow at the question. "Couldn't we just drag him back to the Pokemon Center?"

The rest of the group looked away at the question. As they were the ones with the Pokemon translator, minus Seth who can naturally understand them, they heard Reaper's threat and were more than sure the Scyther would do the deed should he linger around with Ryan any longer than necessary.

"W-Well... We don't know if it's okay to move him," Vanessa lied. "For all we know, he might not be entirely okay. Maybe he has some internal injuries, like a mean blood rush after that battle."

Maui placed a finger on her chin in thought. "You're not wrong..." she agreed, to their relief. "All right, I guess I'll volunteer."

"Are you sure?" Jaune asked.

"Of course. Besides, I didn't have that battle with him yet."

"Then I guess this is where we part ways again," Ren said.

"Sure is. It was really nice seeing you guys again. You can bet that the next time we meet, my team and I will be even stronger!"

"And we look forward to the day!" Nora answered for the group.

"Welp gang, time to head back to town," Seth said. The guys all nodded in agreement to the idea and made their way back to Anistar City, waving goodbye to Maui as they walk.

When the girl was out of sight, Nora rushed over to Reaper and playfully nudge the Scyther. "So! Guess now you have newfound respect for Ruby~" she said to the shiny Pokemon.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" he asked.

"Oh, don't play dumb, Reaper~" Yang said, joining in on the nudging. "We all heard you."

"Like I said, what are you talking about?"

"Oh you know... 'Ruby Rose is a far better trainer that you, Ryan!' 'Gotcha, Ruby!' Don't you usually call my sis 'Red'~?"

"Wha-?!" Reaper turned red at the mention of those. "You're only imagining things! Red is Red!"

"Actually, I'm pretty sure I heard you call my name back there, Reaper~ Twice, at that," Ruby pointed out, joining in on the teasing.

"I did not!" Reaper retorted.

"Reaper, are you blushing?" Jaune asked.

In response to his question, Jaune felt something breeze over his head and saw a drizzle of yellow falling in front of him.

"Would you like me to give you a quick, painless death or a slow and painful one~?" Reaper asked, tick marks all over his head.

"Eek! I'm sorry!" the blonde male apologized in fear.

"Well, things certainly have gotten lively again," Jackson said to Seth and Vanessa, both who nodded in agreement.